The Lost Eon
by Kirby Oak
Summary: When she went against orders, she was supposed to be killed. Fate, however, had other plans. Now, a former Rocket must struggle to live a life she never wanted in a body that nature never intended her to have. TF Fic
1. The Experiment

A/N: I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Hey, isn't that the guy with all those unfinished pokémon stories?" The answer is, yes I am. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true: all those stories will likely never get finished. I've lost interest in them in favor of something else. This story, though, should be different if I can work well enough. Hopefully... Well, all the same, I hope you enjoy this one. I'd like to give a special mention to Fragmented Disillusionment and DarkPokemonLover, whose works I've based (to the best of my ability) this story on. If you haven't read their stories, you should read them, right now. Well, not _right_ now, but after you're done reading my story, go and read theirs. Anyways, without anymore delay, I bring you my story (Ok, there's a disclaimer first, but you get the idea).

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Got it? Good.

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**The Lost Eon: Part One: The Experiment**

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Nothing was better than listening to the machines humming all around in the cool darkness. Hours could be spent just relaxing and enjoying those sounds. Right now, though, such relaxation was not possible for the middle aged man who had these thoughts. He was too busy taking readings off of a display screen. 

This display screen, attached to a rather large cylindrical device, showed the image of a small creature with brown fur and displayed what appeared to be life signs. The animal was unconscious, its bushy, tan tipped tail and long ears laying with no real care.

Taking down the last of the readings, the man put away his notebook and checked to make sure that his biohazard suit was sealed. That was the other reason he couldn't relax, even if he wanted to. The biohazard suits were so bulky and uncomfortable, he felt like just tearing it off sometimes. He knew better, though. Too many dangerous chemicals and things were used in these machines, and he wouldn't want to risk exposure. Finding that his suit was still as air tight as when he entered the area, he proceeded onto his next task.

As he entered the code that would unseal the doors, he started to wish that he could have had his team here with him. Not only would the help have been appreciated, but he would have liked to share this success. After all, it was so rare that this actually worked so seemingly perfectly. Unfortunately, he had orders from his superior that no one else could know about this. This didn't sit well with him, as he couldn't show off his accomplishment, but what the boss says goes.

With a small whoosh, the doors to the device slid open. Looking inside, the man quickly spotted the same creature that was displayed on the monitor. With the doors open, the chill of the lab swiftly acted on its small body, not hindered by the animal's fur coat. Instinctively, the animal curled up with its tail around it as much as possible, but it still remained unconscious. Making a quick mental note of this behavior, the man entered the chamber and swept up the creature, which quickly took a liking to what heat was emanating through the protective suit.

Worried that it might wake up at an inopportune time, the man took the creature to a nearby table. Setting it down, he took a small mask and put it over the animal's muzzle. Turning the knob on a bottle that was connected to the mask by a tube, he heard the sound of the gas flowing. Which each breath the animal took, its slight twitches and movements ceased as its body became limp. Satisfied that it would be out for a while, the man removed the mask and carried the animal towards the exit.

Instead of going out the door with it, though, he placed it inside a clear drawer that extended from the wall. Closing the drawer, he typed in his pass code, opened the door and stepped through. Once inside, he closed the door, which sealed with a whoosh and the mechanical sound of the locking mechanism. Pressing a red button on the side of the room, he was basked in a blue glow and felt a slight tingling sensation. While he was going through this, the creature was undergoing a similar decontamination procedure.

When this was complete, he stepped through a door on the opposite end of the room. Outside, the man got out of the suit as fast as he could and hung it up on the nearby rack. Relieved to be out of the uncomfortable suit, the man ran his hand through his graying black hair and adjusted his glasses. He then continued with his work.

Pulling on the other end of the drawer, he slid it open and removed the creature that was inside. Placing a collar that had a small black box attached to it just above the beige little mane around the animal's neck, he put it into a small carrier.

Walking silently, he carried it to a small room with a row of five cages on the ground. Each cage had a small camera pointed at it. One cage in particular also had a dish of food and a dish of water. Removing the animal from the carrier, he placed it in this cage and closed the cage door. He took a few moments to set up the camera before leaving the room.

He walked over to his own office and took out his notes. He scribbled a few more things on there before sitting back. He needed a moment to think before he started his report. This result had been so unexpected. In fact, this test had only been done in the hope that it would fail. It hadn't, though, and now he had to convince his superior…

Starting up his computer and opening his email, he began to type up his report.

_Status report for test subject 133-18-F_

_14__th__ of May, 2006_

_Prof. Simon Longue, head of Experimental Analysis_

_Despite all odds against it, the test subject has survived the experiment. Miss Sarah Kaplan has been completely transformed into the pokémon eevee. She appears to be around the age of 1 year and 4 months, and all indications are that she is healthy. _

_Regarding your intentions for her, I wish to ask for a period of time in which I can conduct more tests. I realize that you were intending for her not to survive, but I would like to point out several reasons as to why she should be kept alive at this stage. Although no conscious behavior has been observed, the subject did seek the warmth from my body while in an unconscious state. This may show that she can be taught for obedience if trained the right way. Also, if the matter is security, then you should not worry. Even if she could talk, we have her monitored 24/7. Finally, with successes at the low rate that they are, this is the perfect opportunity to try and gather more data about the end result._

_I hope that these reasons convince you to let me conduct more tests. I would hate to see a perfectly good test subject go to waste. While I wait for your response, I will keep the subject in her cage. Please, though, take my suggestion into consideration. Thank you._

(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)

Meanwhile, down the hall, a small eevee was starting to arouse. She didn't know it yet, but there was more ahead for her than what she had expected.


	2. The Eevee

A/N: A new part, for most people. I actually had it written already when I posted the first. I wanted to wait a little bit before posting the second chapter. I figure that now is as good a time as any, but better because I have 133 views. For those of you who don't know the significance of that number, get a darn pokédex. Now, I've decided to do something that I didn't do for my other fic. Respond to reviews right here and now.

swack16: thanks for the review hope you like this part

DarkPokemonLover: It was good to 'learn' that you liked the chapter. And, yes, Simon is bad, but I wouldn't sic Jen on him just yet. After all, he is keeping the eevee alive. Though, I suppose if Jen could attack him then get the eevee out of there, then it would be okay. You know, except for messing up the timeline, as well as my plotline. Well, I'm glad you like the name Sarah. I'd hate for you to have to read my whole story and cringe every time that you saw her name. Also, I know that the last part didn't say much. It was more like a prologue, sorta. By the way, it's fine that you stole my tradition, since I stole yours of replying to reviews.

Foxyjosh: First of all, do you like read every single TF story that flows into your C2? It seems like I always see you reviewing them. Anyways, thanks for your review here all the same. I hope you like this part as much as the last.

And that finishes up that, unfortunately. Hopefully I'll get more reviews for this part. So, after a brief message from our disclaimer, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own pokémon. I also don't own an eevee, unfortunately...

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**The Lost Eon: Part Two: The Eevee**

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When waking up in unfamiliar surroundings, the most common response is to panic and try to find out as much about where you are as possible. The first response is as a precaution, and the second as a way to assess the true danger that the environment holds. This is the way that most creatures prepare themselves for whatever might be in the unknown location. Not everyone is like this, however, and that only serves to make them unprepared for even something that was expected. Unfortunately for Sarah Kaplan, she was one of those people, or rather pokémon, now. 

As she first came out of the darkness of unconsciousness, the first thing she noticed was the sounds. Not that it was loud, but that there weren't any of the sounds that she had heard almost constantly for the past… however long it had been. There was still a slight hum from somewhere, but compared to what she had experienced before, it was silence.

The next thing that started working was her nose, which immediately detected the smell of food. The smell was strong and seemed strange, but it was very attracting to her. She was tempted to get up and start eating, but her mostly full belly and comfortable position managed to dissuade her. For now, just the smell would be enough to give her the pleasure normally brought by taste.

She moved a little, feeling the soft fabric under her. It was so nice and comfortable. She had never had a bed as nice as this her entire life. She wanted to just lay there forever. That would be silly, though, and she knew it. After all, she needed to eat and run around and stuff. The fabric just felt so good against her body, though. Thinking about this, she realized that she wasn't wearing anything. This issue was quickly dismissed, though. After all, she had been naked during all the time she spent in the place before. Besides, she was sure that her bed wouldn't feel even half as nice with clothes on.

Having woken up in such a peaceful and relaxing environment, Sarah hadn't even taken the time to prepare herself for any surprises that her new situation would bring. This would certainly prove to be a mistake as she was startled by an odd sensation. Something had seemed to brush against a part of her body. The confusing part was, not only had she not been moving, the part that seemed to have been touched didn't correspond to any of her known body parts. She was at a loss as to where such a sensation could have come from.

From deep inside her mind, an answer seemed to present itself. Unfortunately, it wasn't one that pleased Sarah. The solution to her question was simple: her tail had brushed against something as it was moving. She instantly froze at this realization. Tail? She wasn't supposed to have a tail! Suddenly, everything that had happened rushed back into her memory. She remembered the meeting with her boss, being taken away, forced into the machine, everything.

Knowing what happened didn't make it any easier to cope with, though. In a panic, she opened her eyes, hoping that it had just been some horrible nightmare. The crosswire wall that greeted her didn't do much to help this hope, and the impossibly large room beyond it made things worse.

As much as she didn't want to, she did the thing that would definitively make or break her hope. She looked down at her own body. Sure enough, she was covered in brown fur and had a bushy tail. Her hands and feet were now paws, which were obviously meant for a four-legged stance. Worst of all, she caught a small glimpse of something black on her neck that, now that she thought about it, she could feel itching a little. She knew what it was, and it did not make her feel better.

Her panic rising like crazy, she stood up, though she was a little unsteady on her own four paws. She did a complete three-sixty of her surroundings. It was just as she had fearfully suspected. She was in a cage, trapped.

Because of her fear and panic, she yelled out, "No no no! This cannot be-" She stopped suddenly, her own words making the ordeal much worse. What had just come out of her mouth was not what she had tried to say. It wasn't even human. Sure, she had understood the meaning of what she said, but all it sounded like was "Vee vee vee! Ee eevee vee-". It was horrible. No human would be able to understand her like this.

She couldn't take it anymore. She had to get out. Running over to the door of the cage, she pushed on it in an attempt to open it. It wouldn't budge, though. It was latched shut, and Sarah couldn't unlatch it. Like any animal cage, it had been designed so that it could only be opened on the outside and only by humans. Feeling hopelessly trapped, she lowered her head, her ears and tail following suit. There was nothing she could do but accept her fate, whatever it would end up fully being.

After awhile of just sitting there, lost in her own despair, a new sound came to her ears. It was a regular tapping that seemed to be getting closer with every beat. It took her a minute to figure out, but she realized that it was the sound of footsteps getting closer. This was soon confirmed by the door swinging open and revealing a person. Sarah watched as the giant of a man walked towards her. All she wanted to do was run, but she knew that she had nowhere to go. The only thing she could do was back into one corner and wait.

Reaching the cage, the man towered over the eevee and smiled at her. It was not a smile of kindness or of trying to comfort someone, though. No, it was more the type of smile that one got when looking at some accomplishment he had done. Sarah didn't notice this, though. She was too lost in her own fears of what the giant would do to her. After a few moments of him not doing anything, her fear started to subside, and she was able to figure out who he was. It was Simon, another person who worked in the same department of Team Rocket as her. She had seen him once or twice in her time here. Despite knowing who he was, she remained in the corner and just looked up at him with a nervous stare.

"It's good to see you're up," he said, his booming voice echoing slightly in the stark room. Sarah flinched at his voice, her ears flattening themselves against the back of her head because of its volume. More than that, though, what he said didn't sound quite right in her head. It was like she was getting two different meanings for his one statement. One made perfect sense while the other seemed to be complete nonsense. Luckily, she was able to ignore the nonsense meaning enough to understand what he was saying. Still, she was confused as to where such gibberish would even have come from.

Simon saw the confusion in her expression but misinterpreted why she was confused. Crouching down a little, he said to her, "What's the matter? You don't understand why I'm being so friendly? Well, the way I see it, if you're treated well, you'll be that much more willing to obey my commands." He knew full well that kindness alone wouldn't get her obedience, but it would certainly help in conjunction with his other methods.

Sarah just looked up at him in disbelief. He was talking about her like she was just some sort of pet. He acted as if she was like some skitty or growlithe that needed to be housebroken. This only made her anger rise and her desire to hurt him went with it. At the same time, though, there was that part of her that still wanted to run and escape. Unfortunately for her, neither could be accomplished. There was still a cage that separated her from her desires. Just as she was about to give up hope again, she got what she believed would be her chance.

"Tell you what," Simon said with a smirk, "since it must be rather uncomfortable in that cage of yours, I think I'll let you out for a little bit. Is that okay with you?" Receiving a quick nod from Sarah, he continued, "Alright, but you'll have to be good and not try to escape. I'm putting my trust in you." Sarah nodded again, amazed at how easy it would be. He was a real idiot thinking that she wouldn't do anything. Not that Sarah noticed his smirk or saw him checking a small black object. She was too concerned with her own plans.

Opening the other door on the top of the cage, Simon put his hand in slowly and moved it towards the eevee. Sarah watched the hand, waiting for it to get close enough for her to attack it. Just as she was about to pounce on it, though, she felt a tug on the back of her neck. Suddenly, she was no longer in contact with the ground and her stomach felt like it was starting to confuse up from down. Everything blurred past and she could tell that she was dangling by the back of her neck. Wanting to get back to the safety of the ground, she started flailing and struggling to get whatever had her to lose its grip. It only held on tighter, causing her neck to start hurting a little. Her attempts at escape being futile, she gave up and let herself hang limply. She was soon reacquainted with the ground, which was thankfully relieving.

Letting go of her neck, Simon stood back up and watched her. He knew that it wouldn't be much longer before she made her attempt. He had left the door wide open for her, and he doubted that she would have been able to resist even if she had wanted to. Taking out the small black device that he had checked earlier, he waited for her to make her move.

Just as he had predicted, there wasn't a very long wait. As soon as Sarah had recovered from her highflying ordeal, she quickly realized the opportunity that she had (or thought she had). Glancing up at Simon, she saw that he was in a fairly relaxed pose and was just watching her expectantly. Had she been human, or even just a little less full of adrenaline, she probably would have been suspicious of his stare and more observant of the object that he held in his hand. As it was, though, all she thought about was that it would take him a few moments to react to her actions. With this idea in mind, she tensed her leg muscles and then took off at full speed towards the doorway. Her legs seemed to move by themselves as her instincts took over what her conscious mind hadn't mastered. All she wanted to do was get through that door, though she hadn't even begun to think about what she would do next.

She never got to that point, though. With only a few more feet to go, something happened that forced her to stop. It had started as a slight burning sensation in her neck, but, within a second, the pain had spread throughout her entire body. She cried out in pain as her legs gave out from under her, and her body hit the ground, sliding a few inches to a stop. Lying on the ground, she tried to figure out what had just happened. As her human logic and pokémon instincts worked independently to solve this mystery, she was presented with two different, yet not mutually exclusive, answers. The human part recognized that she had just been shocked, and the pokémon part concluded that she was being attacked. Both sides came up with a similar response to these conclusions: fight back.

Ignoring the still lingering pain, Sarah got back up on her feet. Taking a defensive stance, she looked around for her attacker. The room was absent of any life, however, except for her and Simon. She couldn't understand it. She had clearly been attacked by something, but there wasn't anything that could have done it in the room. Simon was there, but he had barely moved since when she had started running. Besides, he couldn't possibly have been able to throw thundershocks around. Needless to say, the former human was at a loss as to explain what had attacked her. Nonetheless, she remained in her defensive stance, waiting for her invisible foe to show itself.

Simon couldn't help but smirk at the way she was acting. She was so oblivious to what had happened to her that it was almost comical. After a few moments of watching her try to identify some imaginary assailant, Simon spoke up. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah," he began, causing the eevee to turn to him, "I thought you smarter than this. First of all, did you really think that you would get away? Where would you go exactly? Even if you had somehow made it out of this facility, we're still in the middle of essentially nowhere. You'd be a small, defenseless creature lost in the wilderness with no mastery over your abilities. Sounds like a free lunch for something." He paused here, watching the fear grow in the eevee's eyes as she thought about what he had just said. Continuing, he said, "Second, you couldn't even figure out something as simple as what just shocked you. I guess your employment here was just a fluke, because you're obviously not smart enough to have actually been able to do all that lab work." Simon leaned back on the single table in the room.

Sarah was just plain upset at this point. She had been attacked, but she couldn't tell what had attacked her. Now this guy was insulting her. Figuring that her attacker wasn't going to be showing itself any time soon, she decided to direct her urge to fight at Simon instead. She started running again, this time straight at him. She was ready to scratch and bite and whatever else would hurt him. Once again, though, she was stopped by that shock. Hitting the ground for a second time, she just laid there, her breathing heavy. It took her longer than before to stand back up, the pain starting to have a cumulative affect. Simon sighed at her actions, saying, "I'm doing this in your best interest, you know. I'm trying to help you." It didn't matter what he said, though. She didn't believe him. She was going to make one last stand. Before she even made it a few feet, however, she was subjected to the same painful attack. This time, she stayed down. There was no point in trying anymore, and she knew it. The pain was too much as it was. She didn't need more.

Satisfied that she had learned her lesson, Simon pocketed his device and bent down to pick up the eevee. He didn't grab her by the neck this time, instead sliding both his hands under her body and lifting her up. It still made Sarah feel sick and dizzy, but she just didn't care enough at the moment to fight it. Carrying her to the table, he set her down on it so that she was facing him. The cool metal surface felt strange but also good to her aching body. Looking up at Simon nervously, she wondered how much more torture was in store for her.

Seeing that she seemed to be ready, Simon addressed the girl, "Now, I hope you'll finally sit still and listen." Sarah just continued to watch him, not bothering to nod. "Yes, very good. Alright, then, it's about time that we discussed how things will work. You've already gotten a taste of what happens when you're bad." He pulled out the black device and showed it to her. "This is a remote control. If I press the button, it causes the corresponding device on your collar to deliver a shock to your body. Nothing lethal obviously, but it can certainly be quite painful, as you well know. You and I both hope that we won't have to use that too much." He slipped the device back into his pocket before continuing, "Now, I don't want it to seem like I'm a bad guy. That's why, just like you'll be punished for bad behavior, you'll be rewarded for good behavior. Everything make sense to you?"

Sarah nodded slowly. She understood. She didn't like it, but she understood. As much as she didn't want to be shocked again, though, she couldn't just give up. Maybe if she only tried something once or twice everyday, then it wouldn't be as bad. Surely whatever he gave her as a reward wouldn't be enough to make her bend to his will. After all, there was only so much that one could provide a pokémon beyond what's needed for survival. She came out of these thoughts when Simon stepped closer and began to speak again.

"Well, seeing as you had a taste of what punishment is like, and you did listen without any sort of interruption, I think I'll give you a small taste of a reward." He reached his hand out towards her. Expecting to be picked up again, Sarah closed her eyes and braced herself. She felt his hand touch her neck, but what happened next wasn't what she was expecting. Instead of grabbing the back of her neck, his hand slid down her back. The sensation was so amazing that Sarah couldn't even describe it properly. It was like it both excited her and relaxed her at the same time. Then, much to her delight, he did it again, and again, and again. He continued for what seemed like hours, each stroke bringing her closer to peaceful bliss. Even her pain seemed to dissolve as her body instinctively relaxed.

It was already too late by the time she figured out what he was doing. He was petting her, just like if she was some pet. She was already too much under its power to do anything about it though. One lone part of her mind hoped, begged, and pleaded that she do something about it. Get away, bite his hand, anything to stop it. It was drowned out, though, by all the parts that didn't want it to ever end.

However, just like that, it did end. Sarah was left still sort of out of it. She felt satisfied yet longed for more. She snapped out of it when she heard, "Good. I can see that this will be as equally effective as your punishment was. Our time together must end here, I'm afraid. It's quite late, and I'd much rather sleep at home. So, let's just get you back into your cage here." He slid his hands under her again, lifting her up. Still somewhat affected by the petting, Sarah didn't even want to struggle against him. She just allowed herself to be carried to the cage and be placed in. Done with that, Simon headed out the door, turning off the lights before shutting it.

Left alone in the dark, Sarah thought about what had happened today. So many feelings were swimming around in her head that she couldn't tell which were caused by pokémon instinct and which were caused by human emotion. She was angry at Simon, at her boss, at all of Team Rocket, at the whole world pretty much, especially herself. She had made so many wrong choices, so many mistakes. If she had only done one differently, maybe she wouldn't be here. Feeling depressed, she laid down and curled up, wanting to cry. She didn't, though. She never did, and soon sleep took her for the rest of the night.


	3. The Records

A/N: Part 3 is here. Not much to say really, except that I've certainly got more reviewers/favorite-ers than I would have expected. However, I highly recommend that you look at the other stories in the "Dark Fragments" C2. These stories are even better works, in my opinion, that take place in essentially the same world. So, yeah, check that out when you have a chance. Anyways, onto those review responses.

DarkPokemonLover: Seriously, I don't know why you get so sad over this stuff. I may have the language, but you have the internal knowledge. You work much better insider this realer setting. That's probably why I did have a few things similar as you in the last chapter. Take it as a compliment. And as for the number of page views, well... it was only the first chapter. I'm sure the trend won't continue. At any rate, I'm glad that you still liked it.

swack16: You know, I don't think that I've ever had a review with such strong language in it. I guess it's good that it wasn't directed at me, though. Simon does deserve it however. Also, yes, Sarah has lost a portion of her humanity. It's kind of a hard thing to avoid.

Aggron15: I have to admit, I never thought that anyone would think of Simon as nice. I suppose I could see how one would think that after the first chapter, but it was still a bit of a surprise to hear. Like you said, though, it is made clear by the end of last chapter that he's not so nice. About that 4 out of 5, although I do appreciate it, you never really told me what caused me to lose that point. I hope you'll tell me for this chapter, though a 5 would be hoped for.

Espeon Master: I'm glad that you like the story so much. I'm sure that as it continues you'll be even more interested. I hope so, at least.

Well, that's it. Please review this chapter, too, please. I'd like to see reviews from some of those people who I know are reading this but haven't reviewed yet. Not that you have to or anything. It is a free community after all, but it would be nice. Well, enough from me. Let's get on with the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own pokémon. There are some original characters, though. These are mine. The universe they live in isn't, though. That may or may not belong to Fragmented Disillusionment. You'd have to ask him.

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**The Lost Eon: Part 3: The Records**

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The next morning started much too early for Sarah. She would have been content just staying asleep. Part of that was simply instinctual. Despite her deep hatred of being caged, the blanket under her was warm and comfortable. It made her feel safe, allowing her to relax and conserve energy that could then be used when it was actually needed. Not only that, though, she much preferred the dream world to the real world right now. Sure, eevee dreams were less organized than human ones and weren't as much the deep, meaningful looks into the subconscious, but at least she could dismiss them as simply being dreams. This was not a luxury that she could have with her real life. 

Even with all this motivation to stay asleep, it was still interrupted by that constant thorn in her paw, reality. As the morning had come, the building she was in had started getting filled with the various scientists employed by Team Rocket. With all those people came a lot of noise, which penetrated into the depths of Sarah's sleep and drew her out of it.

Opening her eyes wearily, she was instantly reminded of her situation by the metallic wire crisscrossing its way in front of her. She sighed, looking out at the room longingly. This would be her life forever, she knew it. Before she could think any further, though, she became distracted. The scent that had been so attracting to her last night drifted its way to her nose again. With a no longer occupied stomach, evidenced by its growls of hunger, the scent was now completely irresistible.

Standing up slowly, she followed the smell. The dishes were in a corner of the cage where the blanket didn't cover, and having to step on to the wire floor was an act that her paws tolerated with protest. Ignoring the unpleasant sensation, she looked into the two dishes. One was just filled with water, but the other, the one that the good smell was coming from, was filled with bite-sized, reddish-brown chunks of something. Not too appealing to her human mind. However, she couldn't deny the logic that her instincts provided: she was hungry; there was the only food; eat. She followed this instruction, taking one of the chunks into her mouth and chewing. It actually didn't taste that bad, a little like steak in fact. She continued to eat the food, as well as taking a number of laps from the water dish, until she was contently full.

Retreating back to the blanket, Sarah looked out at the room beyond in despair. She wanted so much to get out of this cage, even if the room was really just a larger one. The cage was so limiting, and the wire was only a constant reminder that she was nothing but a prisoner. At least if she was just in the room, she could run around and not feel so restricted. Running, now that she thought of it, appealed to her very much. She wished she could stretch her legs, even if all she did were laps around the room. The more she thought about it, the more anxious and cooped up she felt. Maybe if she was good, Simon would-

Her train of thought came to a sudden halt as she realized what she was thinking. She had wanted to do something fun over her own freedom. In that moment, she didn't care about what happened to her as long as she could still do stuff that made her happy. It was obvious that her thoughts were starting to become more pokémonic, and that was not a good thing for her. It had only been a day, and she was already thinking differently. It frightened her, but it also motivated her. She vowed that she would fight it and resist the instincts that had been forced into her.

Either way, though, she wanted out of that cage. Even with her new pact with herself, she still had feelings of anxiousness, which were only made worse by the sounds and voices that drifted through the walls. Human voices still sounded strange to her, and the muffling effect of the walls served to make them completely incomprehensible. She kept listening, though, hoping that she might pick up on something she knew. In particular, she was listening for her own name, wondering if anyone out there still remembered her. She didn't expect much, though, for she wouldn't have been the first (or the last) mysterious disappearance at Team Rocket, and her fellow coworkers had likely moved on by now. Eventually she gave up, figuring that she may as well have been listening to static.

As the day wore on, her eevee instincts started providing methods to deal with her lack of activity. Often, she would catch herself doing things like digging at her blanket or grooming her fur. It always took her a few moments to even fully realize that she was doing it. When she did, though, she would stop suddenly and go back to just looking outside her cage. Sure, these things were relaxing and made her overall feeling of despair lessen, but they were the actions of a bored pokémon and not an imprisoned human. Every time she did something like that, she had to remind herself that she was still human on the inside and couldn't let this body control her. It wasn't easy, though, and with all the time she spent in there, there were some things that she couldn't help even when she was in control. It was times like those that made her glad no one else was there. She did her best not to think about these things, and her eevee mind happily obliged in turning her attention elsewhere. All in all, it was a long day of struggling against the instincts that she feared would wipe away her humanity.

Eventually, though, as the noise level started decreasing, she once again heard the sound of nearby footsteps walking to the door. Despite feeling tired from the hours of fighting against herself, Sarah perked up and watched the door expectantly. Soon enough, there was a jingle of keys and a click as the door was unlocked. It swung open, unsurprisingly revealing Simon, who quickly stepped inside and reclosed the door. He carried some sort of file folder under his arm, though he set it down on the table as he walked to Sarah's cage.

Although she tried to fight the fear that had left her so vulnerable yesterday, she still shivered nervously as the man cast his shadow over her. Nonetheless, she stared defiantly into the eyes that hovered so high above her. She knew that there wasn't anything that she could do to him, but there was plenty that she wouldn't do for him. Compliance was not an option for her, even if she knew that it would only bring pain. To her, pain meant nothing if she held on to her humanity and didn't allow herself to become her captor's obedient pet. Of course, even as she attempted to reassure herself with these thoughts, the instincts in the back of her mind kept trying to remind her of the joys that came with being good.

The world doesn't pause for such internal struggles however, and the man who stood nearby was a part of that world. Smiling slightly as he surveyed the small living space, he noticed the way that the small occupant watched him. Despite her attempts to appear tough, there were obvious signs of fear and uncertainty in her look. He continued to watch her, noticing that it made her more and more nervous.

Sarah was indeed getting more anxious with each passing second. The man's unsympathetic stare and her anticipation of what he might be planning were rough on her already worn nerves. She wouldn't let herself back down, though, and kept eye contact. As she watched him, however, she became increasingly aware of how much power he had over her. He was the one who determined what she could and couldn't do, and he could enforce it with no real resistance from her. It wasn't something that she liked to think about, since it meant that she truly was under his complete control. Eventually though, this fact and his almost judgmental gaze got to her. Feeling inexplicably like she had done something wrong, she looked down and lowered herself a little. Though this action brought her a great deal of relief, she was upset at herself for giving up.

Simon only smirked at the eevee's act of submission. She was learning, he thought, and it was all going at a nice brisk pace. Now all he needed to do was get her to follow his commands. If he could train her to follow orders, then he was sure that his superior would think again about terminating her life. After all, this was the first time that the process had been a success. The subject had been fully transformed, and there was no sign of any terminal genetic defect or visible deformity. He needed to do his best to preserve her.

Finally deciding to speak, he said, "Well, I hope you had a good day. I would've been here sooner, but I had so much work to do. As you know, a scientist's work is never done. There's always new data to check and new experiments to run. You're rather lucky to be spared from such a busy life." He crouched down, examining her expression. She seemed to be bored and annoyed. It didn't surprise him too much. He never expected her to actually care about what he told her, but it seemed like the proper opener to make her feel like everything was normal.

Any effect resembling this was negligible, though. Sarah just sat there, continuing to avoid eye contact. She wondered what the point was of him saying all that to her and why he didn't just get her out already. It wasn't like she could escape, but she wanted to put a little more distance between herself and the man. Then again, if he did get her out, she would likely be forced to do some sort of training. Whatever that ended up being would not be very pleasant. Still, it would be nice to do something outside the cage. Maybe it would be worth it, though she didn't have much choice anyways.

As Simon again began to speak, she came out of her thoughts. "Well," he started again, "I'm sure that my day isn't all that interesting to you. It certainly isn't anything that would concern you. However, I do have something that does. You see, I figured that, since you've been out of the loop for awhile, I'd give you a little update about how things are."

The former human looked up curiously as the man stood back up. What sort of information could he have that would be of interest to her? It wasn't like she had had very many friends or anything. She hadn't been all that concerned about current events as a human. Why would she be any more so as a pokémon? With no ideas about what was coming, Sarah could only wait for her captor to reveal it to her.

It wasn't a very long wait. Simon simply had to grab the folder from the table before resuming his previous pose. Opening the folder, he skimmed the contained documents quickly and then looked back to Sarah. "You see," he continued as if he had never taken a pause, "I took the liberty of looking up your records on the TERA database. I must say, I expected there to be more here, but I suppose that you were still young." He glanced again at the papers he held, pretending not to notice the eevee's annoyed expression at his use of the past-tense. "Now, let's see. 'Sarah Cassandra Kaplan, born January 20, 1988, in Viridian. Parents: Thomas Richard Kaplan and Melissa Ann Kaplan.' Hm… Mother died in 1995. Now, that is a shame."

The sarcasm in his voice was obvious, and it didn't encourage Sarah's happiness any. There was nothing she could do but mutter a quick, "Jerk." As Simon looked up at her questioningly, she was actually thankful for once that she couldn't be understood. Otherwise, she might have gotten a shock for that. Of course, this single perk was hardly any consolation to her situation. She was just glad when Simon turned his attention away from her and towards the documents again.

"What else?" he muttered, looking through the records. "Ah. School transcripts. Wow. Very impressive. Quite the A student, although not really in history. What's the matter? Not that interested in the past?" Not even waiting for any sort of response, he continued, "Well, no matter. It seems that this transcript only goes up to about two years ago, though. That also seems to be around the time that your last known address was confirmed. I wonder what could have happened then." This time, he did look towards her as if expecting some sort of answer.

Of course, Sarah knew quite well what had happened. At age sixteen, she had been kicked out of her house by her very own father. Not that it had just come out of the blue. Her father had always been reluctant when it came to supporting a child, especially after her mother died. She was getting impatiently annoyed, though. She expected a list of current events, not an examination of her past. It wasn't even like he was reviewing it with her. He was just telling her, as if she was just learning it all for the first time.

Suddenly losing any interest in continuing to listen to the things that the man was saying, the eevee turned around and lied down, resting her head on her paws. It was an act of boredom, tiredness and, most of all, defiance. Turning away showed that she didn't care about him, and that he shouldn't waste his energy on her. Had they been the same species, either human or eevee, and were in a more social encounter, this may have had the desired effect of him leaving her alone. This was not the case, however, and Sarah soon realized her mistake as she felt the familiar electrical pain shoot through her body. Once again affected by increases in heart rate and adrenaline, she stood up and whipped around, looking up at Simon nervously.

"I expect you to listen when I'm talking to you," he said forcefully, his faux anger having as much of an impact on the eevee as the genuine thing would have. His cold glare spoke of unvoiced threats, and Sarah once again had to avert her eyes from his. "Now then, are you willing to pay attention, or do I have to give you a little more motivation?" His finger hovered at the ready over the main button of the black remote. One look at the remote was all she needed to do what she was told, and she sat down to listen. She wasn't so much afraid of being shocked again as she was worried that he might not ever let her out. Either way, he had gotten what he had wanted out of her.

"Very good," Simon told her, returning the device to his pocket. He did need her full attention in order for what he was going to tell her to have the appropriate impact. "We only have a few more papers to look through; just stay with me. So, a few months after mysteriously disappearing, you apparently got hired by a 'T. E. Market Co.'." He paused for a moment as he stared at the paper in disbelief. "Is that seriously what we used as a front? The higher ups must not have been thinking when they came up with that one. No wonder the DX project was disbanded. Well," He looked up at Sarah, an insincere smile on his face. "I guess you're lucky that you got transferred here. I heard that most of the employees had their employment… terminated." The hidden meaning behind this final word was obvious to Sarah, and it didn't make her feel any better.

"We're getting a bit off topic, though," the man assessed. "Let's get back to your work record in this department, shall we? It sais that you worked for awhile as a lab assistant, doing a lot of the theoretical and small-scale tests. You were considered a dedicated employee by your superior and earned yourself a promotion. Then something happened, though. There were complaints filed about inhumane treatment and destruction of innocent lives. Oh dear," Simon uttered, faking concern, "it seems that you resigned as a member of Team Rocket, but before the resignation could be processed, there was an accident and…"

Sarah watched him in confusion. An accident? This wasn't any accident! She had been forced into this on purpose! What could Simon possibly be talking about? It wasn't like Team Rocket needed to forge records like that. As she caught a glimpse at the small piece of paper that the man was now holding, it all made sense to her. They wanted to make sure that no one even tried to look for her. What she didn't understand was why they would bother. Even if someone did find out who she really was, there was no way to reverse the process. She would have liked to have had more time to think about it, but the man was once again starting to speak.

"It appears that I've made a mistake," he said to her. "I'm afraid that Sarah Kaplan is no longer living." Now the eevee was completely lost. She had already figured out that what he held in his hand was her death certificate, but he was talking like he didn't know it was a fake. Why would he be saying stuff like that when he knew that she was alive right in front of him? The reasoning was entirely unimaginable to her. Simon quickly made it known though, when he said, "I guess that means that you aren't really Sarah. You're just an ordinary eevee."

She was absolutely stunned. He couldn't possibly believe that, could he? She wasn't just some regular old eevee; she was human, and he knew it. How could he not? It wasn't like she had been acting like a regular pokémon. This was just too confusing for her already mixed-up mind. The way Simon had switched his views so suddenly made no sense to her. She couldn't quite grip the fact that it was all a ruse.

This was the way that Simon wanted it. Confusion made the mind susceptible to change, and he could take advantage of this to help mold the way she acted. Speaking softly to the eevee, he continued, "Well, if you aren't Sarah, then we'll have to find some other name for you. After all, 'Sarah' isn't a very good name for an eevee. It's much too human for you. I bet you can't even grasp such a name in that little mind of yours. There must be something better for you. 'Fluffy', perhaps? No… How about 'Cookie'? I guess that doesn't work either. What then?" Simon gave an expression as though he was deep in thought. In truth, though, he was still watching the eevee for her reaction.

A reaction is what he got, too. For the most part, Sarah had been staring at him in disbelief, processing what he was saying. Now he was taking the one thing of her humanity that she had retained in the world outside of her mind. The reason he gave was also particularly unsettling to her. She could grasp her name just fine. True, she couldn't actually visualize it as a written word, but she still knew that it was her. As she attempted to speak it out loud, though, it didn't come naturally. She would get it mixed up with other words that seemed close. Finally, after focusing her whole ability, she got something that sounded close enough, but she could tell that it was slightly off. This small deviation, combined with the time it took for her to call it forth, made her that much more upset.

It didn't matter if she couldn't say it properly, though. It was still her name, and no one could just change it on a whim. He had no right to treat her like a possession. She was a human and still had a mind, even if a few things had gotten changed. She wanted to shout her feelings at the man as loud as she could. It wasn't worth it, though. Even if he could understand her, he wouldn't listen and would likely just give her another shock. It was a horrible position that Sarah had been trapped in through no direct fault of her own. It wasn't like she had stupidly walked into that machine of her own will. She had been forced, and she was still the one paying.

Simon watched in interest as he noticed the anger in the eevee rise, even if she was trying to hide it. He was making her upset, but she wasn't lashing out. This was yet another sign that the training was going successfully. Continuing to wear a smirk on his face, he brought her out of her thoughts by saying, "I think I've got one. It may still be a little hard for you to comprehend, but it's certainly better than 'Sarah'." He forgave the little growl that came from the pokémon for now, too caught up with where he was going. "I've decided to name you 'Perdita'. Yes, I think it fits you perfectly. What do you think, little Perdita?"

What she thought was the same thing that she had been thinking. It was such a strong thought that she felt the need to voice it. Looking the man straight in the eyes, she shouted, "You son of a female mightyena!" Sarah faltered as her own words returned to her. That was most definitely not what she had meant to say. Sure, it meant the same thing technically, but it was completely different. Even the things that she said were being changed by this stupid body!

All Simon had to say about the outburst was a sarcastic, "Good. I'm glad you like it." He then reorganized the papers that he held and put them back into the folder. Standing up, he placed the folder on the table and looked down at the eevee, watching her expressions of anger and confusion. She was still fighting all of this, but he knew that she would be forced to accept it. It was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, that was also the one thing that Simon was being pressured by. If he didn't tame her quickly…

Well, he didn't like to think of such a waste of resources. For now, he'd let the eevee have a chance to think about what he had said so far. She would come to terms with what she was now. He just hoped that she didn't take too long for it to happen. Looking at his watch, he said to her, "Well, Perdita, I've been here for awhile, and I'm afraid that it isn't safe to get you out in the mood that you're in right now. I'll certainly check in tomorrow to see if you've calmed down. Maybe we can do something a little more active then." He smiled at her then began to walk towards the door. Looking back, he added, "If you're lucky, I might have something special for you tomorrow, so you'll have that to look forward to. Goodbye, Perdita."

With that, Sarah was once again left alone. No longer supervised, she released her emotions violently. "I! HATE! YOU!" she screamed as loud as her smaller eevee lungs could handle. After which, she threw herself against the side of the cage. This only served to hurt her, though, and she staggered back in pain. She tried to ignore the pain, as well as the instincts that were responding to it, but that only worked for so long. Eventually she had to give in, and she lied down before setting to work on using her tongue to soothe the points on her body that had made contact.

When she was done, she just rested her head on her front paws. She was still stuck in that same hopeless situation of being stuck alone with nothing but her instincts. It was hard, but she had to keep fighting against them. Unfortunately, she was still too emotional to fend them off entirely. She was mad at Simon for renaming her. There was still had a dull pain in her side, which she was also upset at herself for stupidly causing. Worst of all, she was sad. Not because of her being stuck as a pokémon or the way she was treated. No, it was because, after all that, he hadn't gotten her out so that she could run around. It was not a human thought, and she hated having it.


	4. The Dream

A/N: Sorry, no review responces this time because decided to log me out while I was working on them, and so I couldn't save them.

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**The Lost Eon: Part Four: The Dream**

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The pain was everywhere. All the parts of her body either ached or stung, or both in the worst places. All that Perdita could do, however, was whimper instinctively and lick her cuts. At least she was safely back inside her cage, and, even more rewardingly, at least she had won. After a month of winning most of her battles, she had fallen into a slump recently. It wasn't really her fault, though, as the opponents had been getting stronger, but she still feared that the humans were getting upset with her. Luckily, she had managed to win today, which meant that she would be rewarded by her human caretaker and not punished. That was definitely worth the pain to her, since it was the only time that she ever got anything really nice.

Unfortunately, it was usually a long time between her training and her reward. She didn't know what it was that he did during this period, but all she could do about it was wait. After all, it wasn't as if she could call for him or seek him out. He was off doing his work, and she was alone in her little cage. Perdita lowered her ears a little at this thought. It wasn't that she minded being in the enclosure, with its soft blanket, food and water, and the comfort of her own scent. What bothered her was that the only time she was really allowed to run around was when she was training, and that was too harsh and painful to get any enjoyment out of.

There was another reason that she hated being confined, but it was something that was simply a feeling with no ascertainable source. It wasn't the only feeling like that, either. There were plenty of times that she would suddenly not be interested in things that she usually was or unusually interested in things that she normally wasn't. There was the time that she felt sick about her own food, even though it was no different than usual. Also, that time where she was taken into the human work room, she had tried to play with the thing that made human symbols. She didn't know why things like that happened, but she had learned to just accept these occurrences.

In fact, it was often these strange thoughts and feelings that helped her win in her training. Whereas her first instinct when faced with a stronger opponent would be to either run or blindly attack, she knew it would be useless and so ignored such urges. Instead, she would watch its movements as much as possible, learning how to read them to determine what attacks it would use. Not that that always worked, but it seemed to do her more good than running around and attacking randomly out of fear. Another of her own methods that was strange to her was how she would try to distract the enemy with talk so that she could attack. Most were usually unwilling to even respond, though (and Perdita wondered if some could even understand her), but it did throw them off a little whenever she first tried it in a battle. These sorts of tactics, although weird, were usually effective. As such, despite not understanding them completely, she used them.

She tried to, at least. Sometimes she couldn't control her own emotions, getting upset for no real reason. When that happened, she couldn't help but lash out at anything that disturbed her. Such outbursts didn't usually end well for the young eevee, though, as what disturbed her was, more often than not, the hand of a human. She had gotten plenty of punishment for those episodes, though she had never been able to prevent it. Even now, she could almost feel that urge to be outside growing into a rage at being confined. It was still small, though, making it easy to manage and suppress, therefore preventing her from losing control and doing something bad. It was always hard to resist that part of her, but she did the best she could. After all, it wasn't even really her. It was just some voice in the back of her head that tried to force her into doing things that she didn't want to. She wouldn't let herself be taken over by such a thing.

Unusual temperament problems aside, Perdita was content at the moment. She often was, so long as her training had gone well. The part of her mind that she saw as dark often seemed to be unsettled by this contentment, only giving the eevee more of a reason to enjoy it. The feelings in her mind could protest all they wanted, but she wouldn't be denied her relaxation. It was one of the reasons that she loved getting petting as a reward. Not only was it the ultimate form of relaxation for her, but it also made the dark voice get quieter. She hopped that her caretaker would come soon so that she could get some. It was always so boring to have to wait for him.

The eevee yawned and rested her head on the blanket. Sleep didn't make the dark voice quieter, but it was something to do while she was waiting, at least. Closing her eyes, she let her body relax on the soft blanket. Although thoughts of a nice petting were what she tried to think about as she drifted off, her mind would occasionally wander to what the dark voice was telling her. She would then have to pull herself from those thoughts and go back to thinking about nice things. This back and forth didn't last too much longer, though, as the rough battle she had had soon made her fall fast asleep.

(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)

_Re: Status Report of Subject Perdita_

_6/23/2006_

_Dylan Yune, Director of Project Eon_

_Simon, please realize that I understand your concerns completely. I know better than anyone how much scrutiny the EX Project is getting from the boss. We have enough data to keep him happy without telling him about Perdita, though. Besides, do you really want to tell him that we conducted unauthorized experiments and forged employee records? I'm sure we'll have another success soon enough. I've heard that EX-005 has been progressing nicely, if not quite as quickly as Perdita. _

_As for those rumors, they're just that. You know as well as I do that the DX Project was shut down. I doubt the boss would get rid of everyone who worked there if he was going to continue it. As for this talk about strange artifacts, that's even more ridiculous. I swear, Simon, you're supposed to be a man of science. You shouldn't be letting the meaningless talk of a few grunts be getting to you like this. Project Eon is still Team Rocket's primary program for our type of research. Don't let anyone make you think that we need to jeopardize our careers to save the project._

_Now then, getting down to the real business at hand, I'd like to talk about our little eevee. It's been a month since I allowed you to keep her for your own experiments. So far, the reports have looked good, but words can only tell me so much. That's why I'll be paying the two of you a visit today at 6:00 for a personal inspection of her process. I expect you to be ready._

Simon looked at his watch. 5:23. He had less than an hour to get Perdita ready for her inspection, and the email had only just been sent by the director. The professor sighed a little, re-reading the email one more time. It was almost as if Yune was trying to prevent him from succeeding. Why couldn't the director see her for what she really was; the greatest scientific achievement of either of their Rocket careers. Surely that would more than make up for their unauthorized activities. Simon couldn't understand why he insisted that she be hidden away like she was just some waste of resources. "Well, I'll just have to show him that she /is/ a success worth noting!" he decided to his empty office, pounding his desk a little with a fist to emphasize his point. Then, with a glance at the screen showing a peacefully sleeping Perdita, he started collecting all the relevant documents.

(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)(-o-)

Perdita looked curiously around the room. She had just been happily playing happily in a field, but now she seemed to be back in her room. One thing was different, though; she was out of her cage! Eyes wide in excitement, she was about to explore the room when something stopped her. Her ears twitched a little as she heard an unusual sound. It sounded almost like human words, but they didn't sound as strange or as loud as her caretakers'. Following the voice, the eevee sound found herself at her own cage. Instead of it being empty like she expected, though, there was something moving inside of it.

When she looked closer, she was surprised to find that it was actually a female human. At a fourth of the eevee's height, it was obvious that this was no ordinary human. Other than her size, though, there wasn't really anything that odd about her. At about the age of 18 or 19, she had shoulder-length brown hair and dark brown eyes. She seemed particularly skinny, even for her size, and her pale skin was littered with a moderate amount of dirt and scars. Although her hair had been tied back into a ponytatail, some strands had come loose of the band and were hanging haphazardly next to her face. In contrast to her dirty and disheveled appearance, her clothes were stark white and devoid of any dirt or emblem, as if she had just gotten them moments ago. Although Perdita didn't recognize the girl, something about her seemed familiar. The eevee didn't remember meeting any such human before, though.

The little human's expression, rather than being one of fear at seeing the giant eevee, was a mix of relief and annoyance with a dash of hope. "It's about time you got here!" she called up to the pokémon, using a voice that was just as vaguely familiar as her appearance. "I've been shouting for help for awhile, you know!"

The eevee cocked her head to one side as she continued to stare at the human in curiosity. "What are you doing in my cage?" she asked simply, seemingly ignoring the girl's words.

"I was trapped in here by a very bad man," the human replied, "and I'd really appreciate it if you'd get me out."

Perdita shook her head in response. "I'm afraid I can't do that, little human. If you're in there, then only your caretaker can take you out. If I were to let you out, then we would both be doing something bad. Besides, it can't be that bad in there. I always liked being in there, except for the fact that I didn't have much room, but it's a lot bigger for you than it was for me." The pokémon smiled at the woman encouragingly.

The little human just stared for a moment, seemingly processing what she was just told. That stare soon turned to glare, followed by a frantic shaking of the cage's wire and her shouting, "Damn it, Perdita! Let me out!" The girl was definitely angry, but also showed some signs of being plain afraid. Unfortunately for the girl, it was only the anger that Perdita picked up on, and it was the anger that she recognized.

"Hey!" the eevee shouted, suddenly looking a lot more threatening. "That's the dark voice in my mind that tells me to do things that my caretaker doesn't like! That means that you're the one that tells me those things! You… You've made him shock me before!" Unable to contain her negative feelings, the pokemon rammed into the cage, causing the woman to be tossed back inside of it. Before she could ram the cage again, though, she heard another voice. This was the one of her caretaker!

Turning around, she saw the man standing in the doorway of the room. He was talking to her, telling her, "It's alright Perdita. It's okay. It's just a bad dream. You can wake up now." She didn't really pay attention to his words, though. Smiling widely, she forgot all about the bad little human and ran to him. He immediately picked her up and began to pet her, and she felt herself drifting away, never even noticing that her attack on the cage had broken the latch on its door.

When Perdita opened her eyes again, she found herself back inside her own cage without any tiny humans. The hand of her caretaker was reaching in and petting her as he, himself, smiled down on her. "There you go, Perdita. Everything's alright now. You're awake." His hand slowly moved down until it was under her, and it carefully lifted her up and out of the cage. "You've got a special visitor today," he continued casually as he carried her toward the exit in his arms. "He's come to check on your training personally. His name is Director Dylan Yune."

And somewhere deep inside Perdita, a small, dark, human voice said, "No…"


End file.
